Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Xiangzi nodded again.

"Well."

"Good? Good for what?"

Hailing stood up, walked to the front desk of the coffee shop, took out a box of orange-flavored milk jelly from the refrigerator, paid the bill, and left the coffee shop.

Xiangzi's eyes followed her the whole time. He watched as she paid, picked up the milk pudding, walked to Lixi's side, and placed the milk pudding on Lixi's head.

"So it's true that you become quiet when you're in a bad mood? That's good."

Hailing let go of the milk jelly once she confirmed it was stable.

The milk froze firmly on Lixi's head.

"...How did you end up here?" Lixi's voice sounded muffled.

"Passing by."

"Have you seen it all?"

"Ah."

"Isn't it embarrassing that I spoke so loudly?"

"I didn't hear it."

"......well."

"I have something to do later, but I'm a little free before then," Hailing said. "Want to go for a walk?"

"Magical Girl Band?" Lixi took the milk pudding off her head and looked up.

"Yes and no." Hailing nodded.

"You know I'm upset about this, and you still tell me." Li Xi said with a long face.

"I used to envy you for being able to worry about your teammates."

"now what?"

Hailing looked down at her, then looked up again, her gaze passing through the one-way glass to Xiangzi and Chuhua sitting inside.

"It's hard to say right now." Hailing refocused on Lixi, one hand on her hip. "How about we go for a walk?"

"...This is the first time you've invited me out on your own initiative." Li Xi raised an eyebrow. "Fine, I'll walk with you."

......

That's all for today, goodbye!

Mary bid farewell to the believers who had come to her for solace that afternoon, standing at the church door and waving to them.

After saying goodbye to the worshippers, Mary turned and walked back to the church.

The sound of high heels echoed in the empty chapel, while the blood-red setting sun streamed in through the windows.

Hey.

Hey.

Mary walked through the chapel and into the backyard.

Several children spontaneously organized themselves and sang the songs Mary had taught them.

"It will never change~ Until the end of time~ Let us be friends for life~"

She nodded to the children, continued walking, and used the handrail to go up to the second floor, arriving at the door of her bedroom.

squeak-

Pushing open the door, a simple bedroom comes into view.

She walked to her desk, opened a drawer, and took out a seed of lamentation.

A Soul Gem with 80% taint appeared in her palm. After she purified it with the Seed of Lamentation, the taint level visibly increased by about one or two percent.

Yesterday the turbidity level was around 40%, but today it has increased so much.

No amount of lamentation could possibly be enough.

Mary opened her eyes, her expression becoming somewhat distorted.

She bit her lip, clutching the seeds of sorrow in her hand, sat on the bed, covered her head, and clenched her teeth.

"Sister...will I get better...?"

A faint sound came from the corner of the bedroom.

If Hailing were there, she would recognize the voice as belonging to the girl who had a fever in the infirmary last night.

Mary turned her head and looked towards the corner.

"It will get better, it will always get better."

Mary opened her mouth.

The notes he uttered were not as gentle as usual.

She crushed the Seed of Lamentation in her hand, turned and walked out of the bedroom.

The instant the door closed.

Mary's face returned to its usual gentle smile.

========

Miao Meng put one hand on her hip, looked up, and had a sarcastic smile on her lips.

The first thing that catches the eye is the Kabukicho sign.

The sky had already darkened, and Kabukicho was gradually entering its most bustling time.

Pick up your phone and dial Xiangzi's number.

"I've found the entrance to the barrier."

Miao Meng's tone was as flippant as ever, but instead of her usual high-pitched falsetto, she used her deep, genuine voice.

"There aren't that many good people in this world, are there?"

====

P.S.: I'll be posting double updates every day this weekend; I've been a bit tired lately.

The Tale of Nirvana: Staying True to One's Heart: Chapter 86 - Going to Nightclubs

11pm.

When they met up, Hailing's face was terribly dark.

For Hailin, this witch can appear anywhere, but not in Kabukicho.

“Hai Zi, I know the truth is hard to accept, but…” Miao Meng’s voice rang out, “It’s right here.”

A light rain began to fall.

The not-so-heavy rain did not dampen the night in Kabukicho. The wet ground reflected the neon lights of the night, and all kinds of luxury cars were parked on the street. Water droplets fell on the hoods of the luxury cars and evaporated by the residual heat of the engines. The colorful shimmering light of the water vapor made this entertainment-obsessed place look even more dreamlike.

Legs clad in long boots shattered the hazy reflections on the ground, and subsequent footsteps pulverized the reflections. Four distinctive girls, each holding an umbrella bought at a convenience store, entered Kabukicho.

“I suggest we handle the rest.” Xiangzi looked at Hailing. “You are the employer on this contract; you don’t necessarily have to come with us.”

"I know."

Hailing held her umbrella low, hiding her eyes beneath it, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.

"I know what I'm doing."

Hailing's voice was calm, not like a stagnant pool, but like a calm volcano.

Red volcanoes originate from tectonic plate fissures, spewing out crimson lava. They do not hide themselves, but rather unleash their heat with abandon.

Ash volcanoes originate from plate collisions. The pressure accumulated inside the colliding plates makes the volcano appear calm on the outside, but no one knows when it will suddenly erupt, causing landslides and the sky to be covered with volcanic ash.

A bright red vending machine stood beside the curb. The four of them folded their umbrellas and hid under the eaves next to the vending machine, watching the nightclub across the street.

“The entrance is inside the largest nightclub in Kabukicho. It’s crowded late at night, so it’s easy to sneak in,” Miao Meng said. “It’s well hidden, just as valuable as money, and the whole area belongs to Mary, so it’s perfectly normal that no one has noticed it.”

She put one hand on her hip and glanced at the building that looked like a giant coffin.

"Moreover, this is a nightclub, a melting pot of all sorts of people. The noise is so loud it can shatter your eardrums. A bottle of alcohol can easily cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of yen. The DJ is rocking on stage, and the audience is rocking along like mosquitoes. It's not surprising that anything can happen: 'blowing up balloons,' 'eating candy,' 'picking up corpses,' 'dark web videos'... there are too many to list."

"How do you know so much?" Xiangzi asked.

"Me... " Miaomeng scratched her face, "I used to hang out in here for a few days before someone dragged me out.

Miaomeng looked at the nightclub's sign.

"I never expected that there would be a barrier entrance hidden here. If I could, I really wouldn't want to go into that barrier again."

"You've been inside?"

"Of course, I need to scout things out first." Miaomeng spread her hands. "There's nothing inside, just a little disgusting."

"Tell me more about it."

"I think it's better to see it with my own eyes. I can't be the only one who's blind." Miao Meng made a disgusted face. "It's really rare to see something this disgusting. It makes me not want to eat dinner."

"We definitely want to see it with our own eyes. We'll kill the witch sooner or later." Xiangzi crossed his arms and leaned against the bright red vending machine. "But the problem is, how do we get in?"

She pointed to herself, Chu Hua, and Hai Ling.

“You are an adult, but we are minors. This is a large, legitimate store.”

"piece of cake."

Miaomeng waved her hand, opened her umbrella and walked into the rain, looking back at them.

"Never been to a real nightclub before, huh? Let me show you the world."

......

"Hello, minors are not allowed here."

As expected, they were stopped.

"Are you saying I'm underage?" Miao Meng pointed at herself, smiling and cupping her face. "Thank you for the compliment."

"Uh... I meant the one behind you..."

Miao Meng's eyes suddenly turned cold, and her voice lowered.

"Are you implying I'm old in a roundabout way? I'm a customer here, isn't it a bit much for you to say that?"

The sudden change in demeanor caught the waiter off guard.

"No... I didn't mean that..."

"Your manager is Mr. XX, right? I know him very well. He won't refuse to show a few rich young ladies around."

Miao Meng leaned close to the waiter's ear, her warm breath brushing against the young waiter's earlobe.

The waiter's face immediately turned bright red.

"What would happen if he found out you were talking badly about a regular customer? He'd at least get a beating and be thrown into a back alley, don't tell me you've never seen it."

"How much can a doorman earn in a month? Is it worth getting beaten up and losing your job over a single sentence?"

Miao Meng held two 10,000-yuan bills between her fingers and stuffed them into the waiter's breast pocket.

"Since you forget so many things every day, why not forget just one small thing?"

The waiter nodded blankly.

"Okay, let's go in then!"

Miaomeng instantly switched back to her sweet, cloying voice, faster than a change of expression.

"Oh... um, okay, no problem."

"Thank you~"

Xiangzi saw Miaomeng make a peace sign with her back to him, and then beckon them to hurry up and follow.

As Xiangzi followed Miaomeng into the nightclub, he felt something was amiss the further he went. He looked down and noticed the ground was shaking.